Rudy Giuliani: Ground Zero Mosque is a Desecration

This went way under the radar more than three weeks ago, but Rudy Giuliani made what, as best as I can tell, were his first public comments about the planned mosque near Ground Zero on the Jeff Katz show on radio (someone will, I’m sure, correct me if I’m wrong).

He takes a very hard line, including saying that “decent Muslims” will not be offended by the opposition because they want peace as much as others do.

I had been struck by how non-visible Giuliani, who is generally known as the face of Ground Zero, had been on this issue. (A Nexis search under his name, Ground Zero, and mosque revealed no TV transcripts for the past month).

Here are as much of the quote as I was able to cull from the temperamental audio (the relevant portion starts at about minute 8:30):

“It sends a particularly bad message, particularly (because) of the background of the imam who is supporting this. This is an Imam who has supported radical causes, who has not been forthright in condemning Islamic (terrorism) and the worst instincts that that brings about.

“So it not only is exactly the wrong place, right at Ground Zero, but it’s a mosque supported by an imam who has a record of support for causes that were sympathetic with terrorism. Come on! We’re gonna allow that at Ground Zero?

“This is a desecration,” he added. “Nobody would allow something like that at Pearl Harbor. Let’s have some respect for who died there and why they died there. Let’s not put this off on some kind of politically correct theory.

“I mean, they died there because of Islamic extremist terrorism. They are our enemy, we can say that, the world will not end when we say that. And the reality is, it will not and should not insult any decent Muslim because decent Muslims should be as opposed to Islamic extremism as you and I are.”